In the digital age, where opportunities often arise with just a few clicks, many people navigate online platforms in search of part-time tutoring gigs. But scammers lurk behind the screens as well waiting for opportunities to arise to pounce on unsuspecting and trusting people.
Disha Dey, a college student in Kolkata, was looking for a few young students to teach when she stumbled upon UrbanPro, a platform to connect tutors and pupils. She put her phone number out and since she was not a paid member, she could not get contact details of prospective students.
A few weeks passed and on Sunday, December 3, she received a phone call for a teaching gig. The student was in Class 10 in a CBSE school, was based out of Bengaluru and would need online classes thrice a week for three subjects. The call was from the student’s father and he had a discussion with Disha about starting the classes at the earliest.
Some correspondence over WhatsApp followed, where “Ravi Kumar”, claiming to be a CRPF jawan in the Indian Army and posted in Rajouri, Jammu, jotted down more details about his daughter. He even sent a phone number, claiming it was his daughter’s.
The display picture on WhatsApp too was of an army man with the name tag of "Ravi Kumar". His cover photograph had Prime Minister Narendra Modi with army officials.
He also said that he wants the classes to begin as soon as possible as he would be leaving for border duty and will not be in touch for the next two months. He also insisted that he would pay the fees of two months in advance.
Everything seemed to be going well for Disha, who just wanted to make some pocket money on the side. She did feel a bit iffy about the subjects to be taught – political science, social science and English – as the first two are the same and Disha recalled that there is no political science as a separate subject in class 10. Disha had her doubts but thought that may be the student will know the details better.
Then, things took a turn when “Ravi Kumar” wanted to make the payment.
UPI was the only option and Kumar said that he can make the payment only through his supervisor in the army, who will call Disha and send her the fees. Kumar said that they are not allowed to use UPI in the army and all online transactions are made through superior officers.
Disha’s conversation with the “supervisor” also began okay. He said he was making a Re 1 payment on PayTm first to check if everything is fine. He asked Disha to check if she had received the money on PayTm and then asked her to click on “transfer”. Disha, who had made numerous online transactions, was confused why she should be “transferring” the money and lied that she had done it.
The “supervisor”, unconvinced and unable to get remote control of her phone, then said, “Send me a screenshot”. The modus operandi, quite clear to Disha now, she said, “I have already received it, why do I need to send a screenshot?”
“Aapka dimaag kharab hain kya (Are you mad)?” came the loud, angry and impatient retort from the so-called “manager” of the "army headquarters".
She hung up.
A little while later, “Ravi Kumar” called again. Through the conversations with Disha, he had referred to her as “sister”. Now, Disha just said bluntly, “I know this is a scam.”
He hung up.
Disha, a psychology major student at Bethune College, speaking to Moneycontrol, detailed her experience and said that just some months back, her father too almost fell prey to a similar scam.
Scammers called her elderly father saying that their home's electricity connection will be disconnected over a supposed pending bill. The scammers then asked him to download an app to make the payment, which would then clone the phone and drain the user’s bank account.
The family lodged a police complaint but since no money was lost to the scam, no action was taken.
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